Dade County History Book

Born in 1796 in Georgia, Moses Bryant came to Dade Co. about 1846 and was enumerated on the 1850 census with wife Phoebe and six children. Researchers believe Phoebe was his second wife and that Moses may have had as many as nine children by his first wife. Moses and Phoebe lived in the Rising Fawn area for about 13 years before moving to Winston Co. AL in 1859. He received 80 acres of land in July 1860. According to a family Bible Moses Bryant died in March 1869 in Winston Co. AL. Although most of his younger children moved from Dade Co. GA to Winston Co. AL and then on to Hardin Co. TN, many of his children stayed in Dade, Co. His known children were Elizabeth, Mary/Polly, Matilda, Prudence Jane, Henry Dock, Malissa, James, Thomas B., Jesse, Robert, William Butler, Andrew/Anderson Emily and Benjamin C. Bryant.

Mary/Polly Bryant and her sister Prudence Jane Bryant married sons of James Doyleand Sarah Raper. Mary and Isaac Doyle lived in Dade Co. and their children were John, Jacob, Jim, Betty, Pleasant, Cooper, William “Bill”, and Mary. Isaac served on the Confederate side in the Civil War. Prudence and James Doyle lived in Dade Co. in the 1850’s before moving to Lawrence Co. AR about 1852. Their children were Jacob, Isaac, Melissa, Sarah Ann, George Washington, James Henry, John Pleasant, William Bryant, Jefferson Davis, and Robert Hiram Doyle.

Matilda and Malissa Bryant also married brothers, sons of Benjamin Long. Matilda and John Long lived in Walker Co. GA in 1850 before moving to Dade Co. Their children were Asa, Delia, Parolee, Malissa, Judy, Johnny, Betty, and Sally Ann Malissa and Asa Long were also in Walker Co. GA in 1850 and then lived in TN and AL during the Civil War period. Asa died in 1869 in Winston Co. AL and Malissa moved back to Dade Co. GA for the remainder of her life. Their children were Lookout Long, L.P. Long, Collakee Long, and Sarah Ann Long.

Henry Dock Bryant and brother James Bryant both worked for the railroad and farmed. Henry Dock married Mary Anna Steele and lived in Dade Co. in 1850-60 then Moses Bryant moved for a short time to Winston Co. AL with the rest of the family. During the 1870’s he moved back to Dade Co. GA. His children were Moses, Mary Jane, Andrew, Henry, Sarah Ann, and Julia Bryant. James Bryant is believed to have been killed during the Civil War leaving behind a wife Elizabeth and two small children John and Phoebe.

Moses Bryant’s six youngest sons grew up in Winston Co. AL and four married during the Civil War period when the marriage records were destroyed. The maiden names of their wives are unknown. The four brothers Thomas, Jesse, Robert and Anderson left Winston Co. AL and moved to Wayne Co. TN then to Hardin Co. TN.

Descendants of Moses Bryant in Dade Co. GA lived in Rising Fawn, Mill District and Sligo District. They are buried in the Hooker Cemetery and Long Cemetery and are related to Castleberry, McBreyer, Scroggins, Blevins, Jeffrey, Murphy, Parker, Kanutt, Dean, and Bostain families from Dade Co.